Joe Root has said that he is looking forward to meeting Azeem Rafiq after the Ashes to discuss his racism-related concerns

Joe Root, England’s captain, has shown interest in meeting Azeem Rafiq after the Ashes to discuss his racism-related concerns. When Root was a teammate of Rafiq’s at Yorkshire, he denied ever encountering prejudice.

Azeem Rafiq, who filed his racism allegations in 2020, provided some alarming evidence before the DCMS (Department of Culture, Media, and Sport) hearing. During his testimony, the 31-year-old accused Gary Ballance of using the racist slur “Kevin.” Joe Root also present during these negotiations, according to Rafiq.

Joe Root expressed his desire to communicate with Rafiq and resolve the situation.
But he stayed steadfast in his previous views. England can learn a lot from this event, according to the No. 1 Test batter.

“Hopefully we’ll get the opportunity to sit down and talk about this whole situation. I stand by what I said. I don’t recall those instances. If they are oversights on my part, that’s an area which I have to learn from.” he said

“There is so much work that has to be done – so much energy has to be thrown into this. And there has to be a real drive to make a real difference,” Root told 

More notable players appeared in Azeem Rafiq’s pioneering testimony at the DCMS hearing, including Tim Bresnan, Matthew Hoggard, David Lloyd, Alex Hales, and others. Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s image has been tarnished as a result of the incident.

Joe Root

Joe Root advocated for inclusivity in the locker room, saying that everyone’s ideas and feelings should be respected.

“We must do everything we can to make the dressing rooms within cricket – professional, international, club – as inclusive as possible so that no one feels like they are treated differently. That has to start at the top of the game.” he said

“I think there is a huge amount of sadness (over what Rafiq went through) and a huge amount of learning to be done off the back of that. We have to do everything we can to make sure we continue to find ways of making the game as diverse as possible and championing that,” he added

Root is in Australia, ready to captain England in the Ashes series, which starts in Brisbane on December 8th.

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